Board bars St. Louis County police use of dogs on crowds

CLAYTON (AP) - St. Louis County's police board has signed off on a policy forbidding the use of police dogs for crowd control.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said the policy change Wednesday follows a federal report that strongly criticized the practice used to contain protests following protests involving the August 2014 police shooting death of Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar insists his department did not use dogs that way in Ferguson.

A Justice Department analysis of the department's patterns and practices is due to be released later this month. It's the latest Justice Department report scrutinizing St. Louis-area law enforcement since Brown's death.